Adjustable rail-chair.



A. G. LIBBMANN.

ADJUSTABLE RAIL CHAIR.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 13, 1914.

1, 1 26,532, Patented Jan.26, 1915.

UNTTED STATEg PATENT @FFTQl-BZ.

AUGUST G. LIEBMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO VIGNOLES RAIL CHAIR COMPANY, OF NEEV YORK, N. Y., A CQBPQR-AICIGN OE DELA'WARE.

ADJUSTABLE BAIL-CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 26, 11915..

Application filed May 13, 1914. Serial No. 838,369.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, AUGUST G. LLEBMANN, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Adjustable Rail- Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway track appliance and particularly to rail chairs.

The primary object of the invention is.

the provision of an exceedingly simple chair having a minimum number of parts and possessing maximum efliciency.

A further object is to so construct the chair that it may be made very cheaply and therefore will be economical in its application.

Still another object of the invention is to so form the chair that the rail clamps thereof may be adjusted laterally with respect to the rail or vertically with respect to the base plate by shifting said clamps longitudinally on suitable abutments extending upwardly from the base plate.

A further object is to so construct the chair and clamps that the rail may be shimmed and that the rail clamps will resist vertical, lateral and tipping thrusts.

Still another object is to so construct the chair and clamps coacting therewith that in the expansion and contraction of the rail, one rail clamp will operate in a reverse direction to the other, to prevent the clamps gripping the rail so firmly as to cause a fracture of the base flange of the rail.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Fi ure 1 is a perspective view of the improved rail chair, a tie and a rail thereon. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the construction shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the tie, the chair and the clamp, and Fig. 1 is an end elevation of the chair and clamps, the rail being in section.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to these drawings A designates a rail. of any standard or ordinary form and B the tie, which is illustrated as a wood tie.

The improved rail chair comprises a baseplate 2 formed at its end margins with the oppositely disposed upwardly extending parallel abutments. These abutments while parallel to each other are, as shown in Fig. 2, d1agonal to the longitudinal axis of the ra l A, and diagonal therefore to the short axis of the chair or bed-plate. The bedplate is preferably formed from a deformed rolled section, the construction being such that it may be readily manufactured in the ordinary rolling mills. The abutments 3 and 4 are disposed in parallel planes but the upper edges of both of the abutments are oppositely inclined from one end toward the other. Each abutment is formed with an enlarged head, bead or bulb 5.

The rail clamps are preferably formed by casting and each consists of a body portion 7 longitudinally bored at 8 to receive the adjacent bulb 5 and slotted at 9 to receive the web of the corresponding abutment. Projecting from the body portion of each clamp and formed integral therewith is an inwardly extending web 10 which is twisted with relation to the axis of the body so that the inner edge 11 of the rail clamp is disposed in a horizontal plane. In order to lighten the rail clamps and reduce the weight without reducing the strength, the webs 10 of the rail clamps are transversely recessed or grooved, as at 12.

The rail clamps are preferably held in adjusted position upon the abutments by means of set-screws 13, one screw passing through the outer face of the body portion of each rail clamp and engaging the adjacent bulb 5. If desired, however, any other suitable means may be employed for holding the rail clamps in adjusted position.

The body portion of each rail clamp extends downwardly at 14 into the space between the base of the rail A and the corresponding abutment and is wedge-shaped so as to positively hold the rail from lateral outward movement.

The base-plate 2 is held to the tie by means of spikes or other holding devices designated generally 15, these spikes preferably beingscrew spikes. having enlarged manv sided heads to which a wrench may be readily applied. As shown in Figs. 1 and t these screw spikes are so located that they would ordinarily impede the longitudinal movement of the rail clamps and, in order that said spikes may not interfere with the adjustment of the rail clamps, the base of each rail clamp is longitudinally cut away or recessed, as at 16, to permit the rail clamps to slide past the heads of the screws when the heads of the screws have been turned into proper position. \Vhen the heads of the screw spikes are so turned that the side faces of the heads are diagonal to the side edges of the base-plate, the heads of the screws will prevent said entire witl drawal of the rail clamps and the screws must be given a turn before the rail clamps can be entirely removed.

The operation of the invention will be obvious from what has gone before and from the drawings.

It will be seen that when the rail clamps are shifted longitudinally upon the abutments in the direction of the low ends of said abutments, the rail clamps will be moved inwardly toward the rail and also downwardly. By shifting the rail clamps in the opposite direction, that is to say, toward the high ends of the abutments, they may both be elevated. A shim or shims may be inserted beneath the rail and then the rail clamps shifted reversely until they are brought into wedging engagement with the base of the rail to force the base of the rail downwardly. The rail clamps may then be readily driven home by means of a sledge hammer. The rail clamps securely hold the rail to proper gage when the rail is held up by supplementary shimming, and the chair provides for a maximum shimming.

The chair is particularly adapted for roads having earth and rock ballast with fairly good drainage. Inasmuch as the chair is composed of only three pieces, not including the set screws, and inasmuch as the base-plate is a rolled section of channel iron, and the rail clamps castings, it is obvious that the chair may be cheaply con structed. It is also pointed out that this chair is so designed that in the expansion or contraction of the rail one brace or rail clamp works against the other clamp or brace. That is to say, whenever the strain upon a rail due to contraction or expansion becomes too great, the wedge-shaped body of one clamp will work off or away from the adjacent base flange of the rail sufliciently to prevent any fracture thereof. If the clamps were designed to enter both from one end and work in the same direction, they would then become so tightened at times that in cases of emergency the rail would be gripped so tightly that fracture would be likely to result, and on the other hand at times, the clamps would become loose.

Oneof the objects of the invention is to provide a secure gripping action upon the rail and yet not have the clamps cooperate in such manner as to cause rail fracture.

The abutments of the bed plate perform the dual function of holding the rail to gage in the different positions of said rail, and as a means for supporting the rail braces in a truss-like manner, thus preventing buckling of the bed plate downwardly at its center and curling upwardly at its edges and permitting the employment of a bed plate of ordinary thickness.

It will be seen that with the improved rail chair it is possible to shim the rail to any reasonable height and to adjust it laterally without the necessity of removing the primary fastenings whereby the base-plate is held to the tie. Furthermore, it will be seen that the rail clamps extend over the base flange of the rail and bear against the side edges of the base flange so that the rail is very securely held and tipping thrust is very largely resisted. It will also be seen that the enlarged bulbs 5 prevent any tendency of the rail clamps to turn. The rail clamps may be readily shifted into their wedging position or the rail adjusted without the necessity of employing a section gang with special tools for this purpose, it being merely necessary for a section hand to drive the rail clamps farther on the abutments whenever the wedges or clamps need to be tightened up.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. In a rail chair, a base-plate having a lateral abutment extending at an angle to the rail to be supported thereon, the upper edge of said abutment being upwardly in clined toward one end, and a rail clamp engaging said abutment and slidable thereon.

2. In a rail chair, a base-plate having a lateral upwardly extending abutment, one end of said abutment being higher than the other, the high end of the abutment being spaced farther from the middle of the chair than the low end, and a rail clamp slidable upon said abutment.

3. In a rail chair, a base-plate having oppositely disposed lateral abutments spaced from each other a greater distance than the width of a rail base, said abutments being parallel but both extending at an angle to the short axis of the chair, the upper edges of said abutments being upwardly inclined in opposite directions, and rail clamps slidably adjustable on said abutments.

l. In a rail chair, a base-plate having a lateral abutment, the upper edge of said abutment being upwardly inclined from one end to the other, and a rail clamp slidable upon said abutment.

5. In a rail chair, a base-plate having a lateral abutment, the upper edge of said abutment being formed with an enlarged head or bulb, said bulb being inclined upward toward one end of the abutment, and

a rail clamp engaging said bulb and slidable thereon.

6. In a rail chair, a base-plate having a lateral abutment, the upper edge of said abutment being formed with an enlarged head or bulb, said bulb being inclined upward toward one end of the abutment, a rail clamp engaging said bulb and slidable thereon, and means for holding the rail clamp in adjusted position upon the bulb.

T. In a rail chair, a base plate having oppositely disposed lateral abutments spaced from each other distance greater than the width of a rail, these said abutments being parallel to each other but extending at an angle to the short axis of the baseplate, each of said abutments being formed with an enlarged bulb along its upper edge, the upper edges of said abutments being upwardly inclined from one end to the other in opposite directions and rail clamps, one for each abutment and each having a body portion bored to receive the adjacent bulb and extending downwardly on the inside face of the abutment, and likewise adapted to eX- tend over the base of the rail, and means for holding the rail clamps in shifted positions upon said abutments.

8. In a rail chair, a base-plate having upstanding abutments, primary fastening devices passing through said base-plate and having enlarged heads, and rail clamping members mounted upon the abutments and slidable therealong, each of said rail clamping members having a longitudinal recess in its base to permit the rail clamping members to slide over the enlarged heads of the fastening devices.

9. In a rail chair, a base-plate having upstanding abutments, said abutments eXtending parallel to each other but at an angle to the rail to be supported upon the chair, the upper edges of each of said abutments having an enlarged bulb, the upper edges of the abutments being inclined in a vertical plane in opposite directions, rail clamps, each comprising a body portion bored and slotted to receive the corresponding bulb and the web of the corresponding abutment, said body portion extending down on the inside face of the corresponding abutment and having an inwardly projecting web recessed to receive a rail-base, the inner edge of said web being disposed in a horizontal plane, and means passing through the body por tion of each rail clamp and engaging the adjacent bulb whereby the rail clamps may be held in adjusted position.

10. A rail chair comprising a substantially rhomboidal shaped base plate haying its ends provided with upstanding abutments, the upper edges of which are upwardly inclined in opposite directions, and rail clamping members embracing the abutments and adjustable longitudinally thereof.

11. A rail chair including a base plate having upstanding abutments spaced apart a distance greater than the width of a rail base, to permit a rail to be adjusted both laterally and vertically with respect to the base plate, the upper edges of the abutments being inclined upwardly in opposite directions, and rail clamping members slidably mounted on the abutments and having de pending wedge-shaped portions adapted to fit between the abutments and the adjacent longitudinal edges of the rail and provided with inwardly extending portions adapted to fit over the base flange of the rail.

12. The combination with a tie and a rail, of a base plate having means for permanent attachment to the tie and provided with upstanding abutments spaced apart to form a t for the reception of the rail, the upper edges of said abutments being inclined up wardly in opposite directions, and rail clamping members slidably mounted on the abutments and co-acting with the rail for holding the rail in different positions of vertical and lateral adjustment with respect to the base plate without disturbing the base plate securing means.

In testimony whereof I my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST Gr. LIEBMANN. [n s.]

Witnesses:

Fnnonero B. WRIGHT, J. D. YOAKLEY.

Copies of this patent may 'be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents,

Washington, D. C. 

